Abstract
This study examines the event- related brain potential (ERP) of 25 Mexican monolingual Spanish-speakers when reading Spanish sentences with single entity anaphora or complex anaphora. Complex anaphora is an expression that refer to propositions, states, facts or events while, a single entity anaphora is an expression that refers back to a concrete object. Here we compare the cognitive cost in processing a single entity anaphora [éstafeminine; La renuncia (resignation)] from a complex anaphora [estoneuter; La renuncia fue aceptada (The resignation was accepted)]. Ésta elicited a larger positive peak at 200 ms, and esto elicited a larger frontal negativity around 400 ms. The positivity resembles the P200 component, and its amplitude is thought to represent an interaction between predictive qualities in sentence processing (i.e., graphical similarity and frequency of occurrence). Unlike parietal negativities (typical N400), frontal negativities are thought to represent the ease by which pronouns are linked with its antecedent, and how easy the information is recovered from short-term memory. Thus, the complex anaphora recruited more cognitive resources than the single entity anaphora. We also included an ungrammatical control sentence [éstemasculine; La renuncia (resignation)] to better understand the unique processes behind complex anaphoric resolution, as opposed to just general difficulty in sentence processing. In this case, event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by éstemasculine and éstafeminine were compared. Again, ésta elicited a larger P200. However, different from the experimental condition, a left anterior negativity (LAN) effect was observed for éste; the ungrammatical condition. Altogether, the present research provides electrophysiological evidence indicating that demonstrative pronouns with different morphosyntactic features (i.e., gender) and discourse parameters (i.e., single entity or complex referent) interact during the first stage of anaphoric processing of anaphora. This stage initiated as early as 200 milliseconds after the pronoun onset and probably ends around 400 ms.
Highlights
Anaphoric RelationA pronoun, on its own, does not provide sufficient information to identify the intended referent
Anaphora can be classified according to the type of antecedent the pronoun refers to
The goal of the present study is to investigate if the cognitive cost of referential resolution for complex anaphoras is higher relative to the referential resolution of anaphora that refers to an entity in Spanish
Summary
Anaphoric RelationA pronoun, on its own, does not provide sufficient information to identify the intended referent. The preceding information (context) can be used to interpret pronouns without great difficulties. This referential relationship is known as anaphora, and allows pronouns to refer back to previously mentioned antecedents (e.g., people, things, events, etc.) without incorporating them into the present context. Single entity anaphora is when a pronoun refers back to a concrete object (i.e., people, things, etc.). Complex anaphora is when a pronoun refers back to abstract concepts (i.e., events, etc., Consten et al, 2007). These relationships exist in many languages, but remains understudied in Spanish. The goal of the present study is to investigate the cognitive costs relative to referential resolution of single entity and complex anaphora in the Spanish language
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